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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421241">Can I stroke your ear?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scoby/pseuds/Scoby'>Scoby</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reylo therapy [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddle porn actually, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Explicit Consent, Eye Contact, F/M, Flash Fic, Fluff without Plot, Graphic Cuddling, Holding Hands, Hugs, More Cuddling, One Shot, POV Rey (Star Wars), Sensuality, Spooning, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:21:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,406</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scoby/pseuds/Scoby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey meets Ben at a cuddle party. Heaven ensues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rey &amp; Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reylo therapy [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Can I stroke your ear?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm working on something a bit longer and needed this piece of indulgence in the meanwhile. Hope you enjoy and leave kudos and/or comment if you do :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Welcome, everyone! Let me first brief you about the rules.”</p><p>Poe’s welcome is very unusual. Rey has been to a dozen different theme parties in his apartment, but never to one with rules. Also, the arrangement looks unique. Furniture is pushed to the sides, as he often likes to do. But there is no epic decoration transforming the room into a pirate ship or a 70s disco or a medieval courtyard or a wild west saloon - only mattresses covering the whole floor space.</p><p>“The point of the rules is to make sure that the cuddle party fulfils its purpose, which is to satisfy everyone’s craving for nonsexual touch in a way that feels completely safe. The first rule is: clothes will stay on. Second rule: no kissing, anywhere, and no sexual touch, not even if you are a couple. And third rule: you must always ask permission to touch someone, and specify exactly how and where you want to touch them. If you get a NO, appreciate it by thanking them and obviously not doing what you asked. If you get a YES, you can proceed. Finn, can you demonstrate with me?”</p><p>Finn stands eagerly up next to Poe and he asks: “Can I hug you?”</p><p>“Yes”, Finn replies and they hug.</p><p>“Can I put a finger in your nose?” Poe asks next.</p><p>“Eww… No.”</p><p>“Thank you. Can I kiss you?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Wrong answer, I said no kissing. But I shouldn’t have asked that either. It was just for testing. Did everyone get the point?”</p><p>He scans around the room and receives enough approving nods to finish:</p><p>“Ok, then. I’m putting a timer on. We’ll have two hours of cuddle time and after that, you’re welcome to stay to chat and hang out longer if you want.”</p><p>With that, the room is soon filled with requests for all sorts of touches, quickly followed by sounds of delight. The mattresses start filling up with whole puddles of people snuggled together, hands giving and receiving pats, strokes, scratches, tickles, whatever each one happens to crave at the moment.</p><p>After being almost buried under a warm puddle of comfortably clothed limbs, Rey stands up for a stretch. Her mind is already in a pleasant state of sweetness, as her eyes scan the room. On the edge of the snuggled bunch, she spots somebody who looks distantly familiar.</p><p>Scrambling through her memory, Rey recognises him as Poe’s childhood friend Ben. Poe has introduced them in one of his parties, but they have talked only very little. Now, Ben is lying on his back with his head on somebody’s belly who is stroking his raven hair, exposing one curiously large ear. His hands rest on the mattress and look like exactly perfect for what Rey wants to do.</p><p>Careful not to step on anyone, she makes her way out of the maze of bodies and sits down next to Ben. When he notices her weight on the mattress beside him, he opens his eyes to look up at her.</p><p>“Can I hold your hand?” she asks.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Rey closes her eyes and savours a deep breath as her hand disappears into Ben’s. It is warm and strong and enveloping her fingers and palm from all directions, leaving no room for anything else but the overwhelming sense of safety and comfort.</p><p>As the person stroking Ben’s head turns away to fulfil somebody else’s request, he sits up in front of Rey and uses the new angle to adjust his grip into an even more perfect balance of firm and gentle. She opens her eyes to meet his and they both drink in the blissful feeling of closeness.</p><p>“Can I hold you in my lap?” he asks.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>She turns around and snuggles back against him, leaning her head back on his chest as his arms enclose around her. His cheek feels impossibly soft and warm when it relaxes against her head. Her breathing synchronises with the steady rhythm that moves her whole upper body as his chest rises and falls.</p><p>She closes her eyes and sinks deeper into his embrace that is an abyss and a cushion at the same time. Every once in a while, he adjusts the position of his hands, letting new spots on her arms and sides get their doses of the warmth of his palm.</p><p>“Can you do this laying down?” Rey’s voice has dropped into a low and serene tone.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>For a moment, she misses the otherworldly arms around her, as they adjust to lie down on their sides so that she can position her whole body against his, from the backs of her legs through her spine to the back of her head. And quickly, his arm is back and pulling her ever closer, until they could melt together. Ben settles his hand right on her heart and she covers it with her own, luxuriating in the texture of the back of his hand how her heart bathes in this heaven of a sensation.</p><p>“Can I look at you?” He is so close now that he only needs to whisper.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Ben loosens his grip so that Rey has space to turn around and face him. She backs away into a comfortable distance to focus on his eyes, leaving a pile of their hands between them. His hazel irises leading to the blackness inside them look like they could swallow her whole. And she gladly dives into their depths.</p><p>She is only brought back when Ben’s gaze shifts to wander around her face. She does the same and takes in the shape of his nose, lips and chin, every birthmark and the contrast of colours where his hair starts. Some of the tousled, black, luscious waves fall on his brow, some down over the mattress. A rebellious tip of an ear pokes out from between them.</p><p>“Can I stroke your ear?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Thank you. How about your hair?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Rey reaches her hand up and buries her fingers into the silky mop, starting from his forehead and moving slowly backward and then down behind his head. The lustrous strands caress her fingers as she cards through them over and over again.</p><p>She is still at it when a chime-like bell rings. Even Poe’s voice has lost its usual cheekiness and dropped a few pitches lower and slower when he detaches himself from a hugging puddle to say:</p><p>“Thank you, everyone. Wasn’t that amazing? Like I said, this is the end of the cuddle time, but you can stay longer to chat if you wish.”</p><p>“Are you staying?” Ben asks when they both lazily stretch themselves up to standing.</p><p>“No, I have to work early tomorrow. But it was good to see you again, Ben. Really good, in fact.”</p><p>“You, too, Rey, extreme good. Can I hug you?”</p><p>They chuckle when noticing how the habit of asking for permission is sticking. But it feels good to hear him ask it, and even better to answer:</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>And better yet is to dive once more into his embrace, snug against his body, ear on his heartbeat, nose towards the scent from under his arm, hands on the muscles of his back. He holds her ribs with one hand and head with the other, palm covering her ear from the noises of the surrounding people, closing her into a cosy pocket of the universe. On the top of her head, she feels his lips and nose press against her hair. Puffs of breathing on her scalp warm her whole body and flush her head empty of reasonable thoughts.</p><p>When they break apart, it is too complex for her brain to form words, so she just waves at Ben with a blissful smile to say goodbye. Somehow she manages to thank Poe and navigate the ocean of shoes and coats by the door to find her own. She is thankful she skipped coming by car, as she would be a total traffic hazard in this state. With swaying steps, she walks to the bus stop and finds a seat where she can lean on the window the whole way home.</p><p>In Poe’s next party, she wants to talk more with Ben. Or if that takes too long, Poe could probably give her his number. But for now, the lingering feeling of the touch of his giant body is more than enough to overwhelm her with bliss for days.</p>
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